Manufacture of sheaths, particularly cigarette paper sheaths



March 29, 1938. H. CHAMBON MANUFACTURE OF SHEATHS, PAR TICULARLY CIGARETTE PAPER SHEATHS Filed June so, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 29, 1938; H. CHAMBON MANUFACTURE OF SHEATHS, PARTICULARLY CIGARETTE PAPER SHEATHS Filed June 50, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 29, 1938.

H. CHAMBON MANUFACTURE OF SHEATHS, PARTICULARLY CIGARETTE PAPER SHEATHS Filed June 30, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 29, 1938. H. CHAMBON 2,112,394

MANUFACTURE OF SHEATHS, PARTICULARLY CIGARETTE PAPER SHEATHS Filed'June 30, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet.4

March 29, 1938. H. CHAMBON 2,112,394

MANUFACTURE OF SHEA'I'HS, PARTICULARLY CIGARETTE PAPER SHEATHS Filed June so, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 29, 1938 2,112,394

UNlTED STATES PTENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE. OF SHEATHS, PARTICULAR- LY CIGARETTE PAPER SHEATHS Henri Chambon, Paris, France, assignor to Societe Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements L. Chambon, Paris, France, a corporation of France Application June 30, 1936, Serial No. 88,224 In France July 5, 1935 18 Claims. (01. 93-2) This invention relates to methods and apparavention may be fully understood, it will be detus for the manufacture of sheaths, particularly scribed by reference to the accompanying drawof the portfolio type, for packing cigarette paper ings in which: blocks. The invention is most particularly but Figure 1 is an elevation view showing the cignot exclusively concerned with cigarette paper arette paper block and the blank when the first 5 sheaths in which the undermost portion comsheet is raised.

prises at its ends a number of side fiaps folded Figure 2 is a plan view corresponding to Figbetween themselves and. the block of paper, ure 1. whilst the uppermost portion is provided with Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but at an end flap which is inserted between the underthe beginning of the insertion of the first sheet 10 most portion and the lateral flaps, in such a in the aperture.

way that the sheath will remain folded without Figure 4 is a view showing the position of the any gumming. parts at the end of the insertion of the first sheet. A most important feature of the invention is Figure 5 shows the block grasped between the the insertion of the end flap between the underpressure members. 15

most portion of the sheath and the flaps formed Figure 6 shows the beginning of the folding of in this portion this insertion being performed the flaps. as follows: After having previously folded down Figure 7 shows the end of the folding of the the lateral flaps, the end fiap is urged between flaps at right angles.

said lateral flaps and the undermost portion, by Figure 8 is a section view through a plane at 20 means of insertion members arranged substanright angles to Figure 7. tially parallel to said portion and this is done Figure 9 shows the end of the folding step for whilst the body of the sheath is pivoted for ap the upper lateral flaps by means of the pliers.

proaching said portion. The insertion members Figure 10 shows the folding down of the lower may be formed by rods of reduced section which lateral flaps. 25 are preferably oscillatably supported. It is ad- Figure 11 is a section through a plane at right vantageous to provide the insertion members with angles to Figures 9 and 10. sharpened points for gripping the cardboard of Figure 12 shows the beginning of the insertion the end flap. of the end flap.

In one embodiment the insertion members are Figure 13 shows the end of said insertion. 30 constituted by fiat rods which are pivotally sup- Figure 14 is a plan view corresponding to Figported in order to form with respect to the unure 13. dermost portion an angle which is decreasing as Figure 15 is an elevation view of the pliers for the insertion proceeds. folding the upper lateral flaps, when at rest.

The lower lateral fiaps may be folded down Figure 16 is an end view of the pliers seen by 35 about a fiat shaped mandrel against which said the left side of Figure 15. flaps are urged by the folding blades. The upper Figure 17 is an end view of the pliers seen by lateral flaps may be folded by means of pliers the right side of Figure 15. which grasp the block at its ends and pivot it Figure 18 is an elevation view of the pliers in during the insertion of the end flap. The end the opening position. 40 flaps will be previously folded at right angles by Figure 19 is a plan view corresponding to Figmeans of fixed oblique members. ure 18.

An advantageous arrangement for the inser- Figure 20 is an end view of the pliers during tion of the first sheet in the aperture of the blank their rotation, seen from the left side as in Fig- 4-5 consists in raising said first sheet then imparture 16. ing to the blank a translation motion which Figure 21 is an end View of the pliers when they brings it against the paper block, whilst the first are in the position of Figure 20, but seen from the sheet will pass through the aperture. The first right side, as in Figure 17.

sheet will be advantageously raised by means of Figure 22 is a diagrammatic elevational view a blade which strikes it and is preferably slightly showing the main parts assembled. 50 displaced by its contact with the same. Figure 23 is a front View corresponding to Fig- It is understood that all the arrangements deure 22. scribed above and below may be considered as Figure 24 is a perspective view of the book in separately or jointly protected herewith. the folding operation shown in Figure 13.

By way of example and in order that the in- The invention has for its object to wrap a 55 block I formed by a pile of sheets of cigarette paper interfolded into a cardboard blank (Figure 2) in which is provided an aperture 2 from which the sheets of paper may be removed the ones after the others as required for use.

The blank is out in the form shown in Figure 2; it comprises from right to left, a portion 3 which will form the cover, a portion 4 which will be the undermost part of the sheath, an upper part 5 in which is provided the aperture 2 and finally the end flap 6. On the sides are provided the lower flaps I, 8 and the upper flaps 9, Ill. The dotted lines are the lines along which the parts will be folded.

The various steps for folding said blank about the sheath I, will be hereafter described in their natural succession, as well as the parts which secure the folding operation. The said parts are shown in the figures which illustrate each of said steps and they will at least partially be found in the Figures 22 and 23 which diagrammatically show the assembly of the machine.

At the beginning, the parts are in the position shown in said Figures 22 and 23. The block I bears upon a pressure member I I and is maintained in this position by a plate I2. The blank is at a slightly higher lever since the fiaps i, 8, 9, II] are supported by the cam pieces I3, I4 (Figures 22, 23, l and 2).

At this time a cutter I5 strikes the upper face of the block I, substantially at its center. Said cutter is carried by the arm I6 supported by the shaft H which may slide in the guide I8. The rotation of the shaft ii is followed by its displacement from right to left in its guide, so that the cutter I5 strikes the block I and is subsequently slightly displaced towards the left. This results in a deformation of the first sheet of the block which is turned up in the position shown in Figure 1.

After this, the shaft I! is rotated in the opposite direction, so that the cutter I5 is withdrawn and the plate i2 removed. A pressure member 28 causes the blank to slide from right to left on the cam surfaces I3, I4; the end 6 of the blank then bears against a pin 2! (Figure 3) which is progressively depressed whilst the blank travels down along the slope 22 provided in front of the cam surfaces I3, I l, so that the blank will remain in a horizontal position.

At that time, the first sheet I9 is in front of the opening 2, and will pass therethrough, as shown in Figure 3. At the end of said motion, the portion 5 of the blank is resting on the block I, as will be seen in Figure 4, whilst the first sheet I9 emerges from the aperture 2.

At the end of such first step, which will be mentioned as the insertion of the first sheet, a pressure member 23 arranged at the top of the machine in Figures 22 and 23, is lowered vertically and pressed on the blank, as shown in Figure 5. Subsequently both pressure members II, 23, are simultaneously raised together with the paper block and the blank. Along their path, the flaps l, 8, 9, II] engage the folding members 24, 25, (Figures 6 and 23) and are consequently folded at right angles; at the end of their travel, the flaps are in the position shown in Figures 7 and 8.

In front of the upper flaps 9, it, come the folding pliers, which will be described below with ref erence to Figures 15 to 21; only the operative blades 25, El, 28, 29, of said pliers are shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9. The pliers move towards the center of the block and are closed upon the same, so that they fold down the upper flaps 8, I0 upon the block in the position shown in Figure 9; this is easily performed since the folding members 24, 25, have a semicircular slot at their top, as will be best seen in Figure 11.

The lower flaps I, 8, are then folded by the folding blades 3U, 35, which urge them against a steel plate 32 (Figure 10) bearing upon the lower face of the blank; the said steel plate or mandrel 32 has been brought in such position at the beginning of the above described phase, which will be called folding of the flaps. It should be mentioned that the cooperating motion of the said folding members 3?, SI, is obtained on account of the toothed sections 33, integral with the levers 35, 36, carrying the folding members which are articulated on the shafts .il, 38.

The insertion of the end flap will now be described. It should first of all be mentioned that each of the pliers which will be subsequently described is rotatable about an axis which is parallel to the plane of Figures '7, 9 and 10 and at right angles to the plane of Figures 8, ll, 12, 13; the shaft MI is shown in elevation in Figure 23 and its end is appearing in Figures 8, 11, 12.

This phase of insertion takes place whilst the above mentioned pliers are rotated 180 about their shaft at. When the said pliers and the block which they have grasped are moved from the position shown in full lines in Figure 11, to the position shown in chain and dotted lines, an elongated member lI, shown at the bottom of Figure 11 comes into action; the said member ll is raised and meets the end flap 8 of the blank which was in the position shown in chain and dotted lines in Figure 12; the end flap is thus lifted in the position shown in full lines in Figure 12 and the action of the member II will then cease.

The insertion of the end flap 6 in itself is secured by the catches 42, 43; the said catches are constituted by sharp pointed members articulated on a part M which is moved in parallel direction to the mandrel 32 and against its lower face. The part M is provided with lugs 45 (Figure 22) on which are supported the pivots 46 forming the articulations of the catches d2, 43, as will be best seen in Figure 22,. the catches may be inclined downwards of a defined angle and they can also be slightly raised above the horizontal plane.

At this phase of the process, the folding members 30, 3! are withdrawn in pivoting about the axes 31, 33, so that the lower flaps I, 8, are slightly removed from the mandrel 32, as shown in Figure 12. The part M is then displaced from right to left and the catches grasp the end flap 6 and insert it in the space provided between the mandrel 32 and the lower flaps I, 8, whilst the folding pliers continue their rotation. This phase is shown in Figures 13, 14 and will be best understood with reference to Figure 24.

The pliers can easily complete their rotation due to the reduced thickness of the catches 42, 43, and to the fact that they are linked at E5. At the end of said revolution the pliers are withdrawn, as well as the catches 42, 43, and the mandrel 32. The only thing to do now is to fold down the undermost portion 3 upon the top of the book, and this is very easily performed without any special means.

The folding pliers 25, 27, 23, 29, will now be described in detail, with reference to Figures 15 to 21. The said pliers are supported at the ends of the levers 4?, Q8, articulated on a pivot 29 in order to operate as scissors. The pivot M1 is arranged upon a block 59 provided at the end of a shaft which is rotatable and slidable upon a bearing 52. On the side of the bearing 52 is attached a cam 53 which is best seen in Figure 18. The front ends of the levers 41, 48, are provided with projections 54, 55, which may engage the cam 53. A spring 56 is tending to close the pliers, but a stop 51 fixed tothe shaft will define said closing motion. At rest the pliers are in the position shown in Figures 15 and 23; in order to perform the folding step, the shaft 5| slides from left to right in its bearing, so that the projections 54,

55, act upon the cam 53, as shown in Figure 18; consequently, the pliers 28, 29, are spread aside and subsequently closed upon the block, as had been previously explained. The shaft 5| is then rotated in its bearing thus driving the pliers, and this corresponds to the insertion phase of the end flap. When the operation is completed, the shaft 5| slides back from right to left and removes the pliers from the manufactured block; since the projections are rotated 180, the cannot meet the cam 53 in such displacement. Finally, the shaft 5| is rotated 180, in order to come once more in the position shown in Figures 15, 16 and 17.

The pliers are operated by the rotation of the shafts 50, 5| (Figure 23) and by a lever 59 which will impart to the shaft 40 the longitudinal displacements; said displacements are transferred to the shaft 5| by a system of levers 60, BI, which are articulated at 62 and 63.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A process of folding a blank having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion and then moving said end flap to a position between said bottom portion and said folded lower side flaps.

2. A process of folding a blank having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps about an article comprising folding said upper side flaps about said article, then folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, then rotating said article with said top portion, upper side flaps and end flap relative to said bottom portion and then moving said end flap to a position between said bottom portion and said folded lower side flaps.

3. A process of folding a blank having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps about an article comprising folding said upper side flaps about said article, then folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, then rotating said article with said top portion, upper side flaps and end flap relative to said bottom portion, then moving said end flap to a position between said bottom portion and said folded lower side flaps and then folding said cover portion over the top portion.

4:. A process of folding a blank having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps about a pack of interfolded cigarette papers comprising assembling said pack with said blank so that one end of the top cigarette paper on said pack extends through'said slot, then folding said upper side flaps about said pack, then folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, then rotating said pack with said top portion, upper side flaps and end flap relative to said bottom portion, then moving said end flap to a position between said bottom portion and said folded lower side flaps and then folding said cover portion over said top portion.

5. An. apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, means for turning said top portion and end flap relative to said bottom portion and an insertion element having a pointed end for moving said end flap to a position between said bottom portion and said lower side flaps.

6. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, means for turning said top portion and end flap relative to said bottom portion, an, insertion element, said insertion element having pointed rods therein for inserting said end flap into a position between said bottom portion and said lower side flaps and means permitting a limited oscillation of said rods about an axis parallel to said bottom portion.

7. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, means for turning said top portion and end flap relative to said bottom portion, a plate, means for reciprocating said plate horizontally, pointed rods carried by said plate for inserting said end flap between said bottom portion and said lower side bottom portion, means for turning said top portion and end flap relative to said bottom portion, means for withdrawing said plates and means for then inserting said end flap between said bottom portion and said lower side flaps.

9. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, means for turning said top portion and end flap relative to said bottom portion, a folding member for lifting the end flap and an insertion member for inserting such lifted end flap into a position between said bottom portion and said lower side flaps.

10. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to .a position adjacent said bottom portion, a pair of pliers for folding said upper side flaps about the articles wrapped, said pliers being mounted for oscillation about an axis adjacent the folding line between said bottom portion and said top portion.

11. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, a

pair of pliers for folding said upper side flaps about the articles wrapped, said pliers being mounted for oscillation about an axis adjacent the folding line between said bottom portion and said top portion, said pliers each comprising two blades capable of being operated so as to simultaneously move toward one another and also move towards the center of the folded blank thereby folding down the upper side flaps of said blank.

12. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, acover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising scissors-like folding plates for folding said upper side flaps, means for folding said lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, means for folding said top portion and end flap relative to said bottom portion and means for folding said end flap into position between said bottom portion and said lower side flaps.

13. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot there in, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps, means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, pivoted levers for folding said upper side flaps, said levers having fixed abutments thereon and a fixed cam cooperating with said abutment in order to open and close said levers to carry out the folding operations.

14. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising means for folding said pair of lower side flaps to a position adjacent said bottom portion, a rod located parallel to the longitudinal length of the blank being folded, folding pliers mounted upon said rod for folding the upper side flaps and means for rotating and reciprocatingsaid rod in order to carry out the folding operations.

15. An apparatus for folding blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein,,a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps comprising a pair of folding pliers, means for operating said pliers so as to fold certain flaps, means for rotating said pliers in order to fold said blank along a longitudinally extending fold and means for moving said pliers toward and away from said blank.

16. An apparatus for wrapping blanks having a bottom portion, a top portion having a slot therein, a cover portion, an end flap, a pair of upper side flaps and a pair of lower side flaps about a pile of cigarette papers comprising a reciprocating bar cooperating with the topmost cigarette paper on said pile in order to raise one end thereof, means for moving said blank relatively to said pile so that said topmost cigarette paper is inserted in said slot in said top portion and means for thereafter folding said wrapper about said pile of cigarette papers.

17. A process of forming a pile of sheets of paper in a wrapper having a window comprising forming a pile of sheets of paper, raising at least a portion of the first sheet thereon, then introducing the raised portion of said first sheet into the window of said wrapper by a relative displacement of said wrapper in a rectilinear line in a plane substantially parallel to the raised portion of said first sheet.

18. A process according to claim 17 wherein said portion of said first sheet is raised by contacting said first sheet with a blade moving parallel to itself in a plane parallel to said first sheet prior to the raising of a portion thereof.

HENRI CHAMBON. 

